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Find A New Rebecca: the future of recruiting?

Last week on our Twitter travels we stumbled across this
innovative, and quite frankly brilliant, job advertisement.

Now admittedly, using social media to advertise a role is hardly radical.

However, the way in which it was used by both the employer (Poke), and potential employees, was a marvel to behold.

First up, the tone. It was perfectly pitched, with the
incumbent copywriter-slash-social-media-manager, Rebecca, announcing the search
to find a new me (her actually,
excuse the semantics).

This simple, clear and engaging narrative, a mini-digi-copywriting-masterclass
in itself, tramples over the generic, tick-boxy, buzzwordy, David Brent-esque (shoot
me now) job descriptions of old.

The application mechanic was just as impressive as the copy.
A live application on Twitter. Yes, LIVE. I was frightened just watching it. By
following @findanewrebecca, applicants received seven tasks throughout the day, and
responded using the according hashtag.

Each task was an accurate approximation
of the daily tasks a social media copywriter might have to tackle. For example, the launch of a competition, the advertisement of said competition and the handling
of an imminent PR disaster.

A couple of applicants stood out from the off. By responding
to this slightly unorthodox job advertisement in a slightly (completely)
unorthodox way, @Brainmage may have guaranteed his place in the next round. Dark,
irreverent and very, very funny, only a few of his less offensive responses are
clean enough to repeat.

And then there was the initial front-runner, who made an
immediate impact by setting himself up as @thenewrebecca. Let the trans-gender
capery commence.

A lovely conceit. That is yet to play out, as @thenewrebecca
did not participate in the live application due to a prior commitment. The
truth, or a yarn? Either way, this strategy could be a winner.

So in summary, a new innovative way to use social media: recruitment.

This specific approach may not suit your particular business or
the role you’re advertising, but this just reinforces how malleable social
media is in terms of its purpose; you can bend it to suit your needs. The sky is the limit with social.

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